site.btaInvestment Promotion Act Amended on First Reading to Reflect Government Restructuring

Bulgaria's Parliament on Friday voted, 181-9 with 12 abstentions, to pass on first reading revisions to the Investment Promotion Act related to the restructuring of ministries. The draft legislation was moved by Progressive Bulgaria Floor Leader Petar Vitanov.

The amendments are prompted by the newly adopted structure of the Council of Ministers and the determination of the competence of the Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry and of the Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation.

Under the bill, the Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Promotion Measures and Projects Directorate of the Ministry of Innovation and Growth are transformed into a Ministry of Economy, Investments and Industry. The idea is to provide the statutory framework needed to adopt, amend and supplement the statutory instruments of secondary legislation for the application of the Act within six months from the entry into force of the amending law.

Another proposal is to establish an Investment Coordination Council with the Council of Ministers.

Presenting the reasons for the draft legislation, Vitanov said that it is largely technical. "Three ministries are transformed into two. The Coordination Council does not add to the administrative burden, and the staff size of these ministries is tangibly reduced," he argued.